Thursday, 9 June 2016

The Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American
Material Culture inaugural conference proudly presents, “The Story of
New Orleans Creole Cooking: The Black Hand in the Pot,” to be held at
Dillard University on Thursday, April 16, 2015 and Friday, April 17,
2015 at the Whitney Plantation. This year’s conference will focus on the
history and contributions of African-Americans to the world famous New
Orleans Creole Cuisine from it’s origins to the Civil Rights Movement.

On Thursday, April 16, 2015, guest historians and lecturers, will
present a full day of lectures, panel discussions, multimedia
presentations and live performances. Culinary historian and historical
interpreter, Michael Twitty will be the keynote speaker on Reading the
West & Central African Presence in the Creole Culinary Repertoire.
Twitty will also present a cooking demonstration at the oldest detached
kitchen in Louisiana at the Whitney Plantation on Friday, April 17,
2015.

Topics and presenters include: Memory Dishes from Gritsland and
Riceland by Dr. Ibrahima Seck, Academic Director, Whitney Plantation;
Feeding the Body and Soul - Louisiana Cuisine and its Relationship to
Civil Rights Activism by A.P. Tureaud Jr., New Orleans Civil Rights
Activist; The Ingenuity of the New Orleans Street Vendor by Barbara
Trevigne, New Orleans Creole Historian; Before Martha Stewart there was
Lena Richard by Liz Williams, Director of the Southern Food &
Beverage Museum; Uncovering the Culinary History of Dillard University:
1935-2014 by Zella Palmer, Director of the Dillard University Ray
Charles Program; From Palm Fronds to Crawfish Bisque by Austin Sonnier,
Educator, Master Gardener and Co-owner of Austin’s Gourmet to Go
catering company.

The Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American
Material Culture mission is to research, document, disseminate and
preserve the culinary patrimony of African Americans and to celebrate
African American culture through the study of food and foodways in the
South. The scholarship that the program and its institute engender will
serve as the culinary focal point for the African American communities
of New Orleans, the South, the United States and the world-at-large.